Dreams of Genie
by 875265
Summary: *Oh, the Genie; sweet, beautiful Genie. Whenever I think of Robin Williams lately, I want to drown in a puddle of my own tears. We've been Robin-less for three years. This fanfiction is purely speculative: What if the Genie had killed himself just like Robin? I challenged myself to write prose, just because I wanted to dedicate a simple, pretty story to him. This is for you, Robin.
1. Chapter 1

**Nobody in Agrabah could have seen it coming but** the Genie died. Yes. It was very unexpected and tragic, but Aladdin and Carpet and Abu and Jasmine's friend/magic blue confidante passed away.

Aladdin and Jasmine had sat on their bed, holding each other, staring out the window Genie had just flown out of a few days ago, chipper as could be, in disbelief; trying to put the pieces together and coming up short. Abu was at Aladdin's feet, trying to think of ways to cheer up his companion but not knowing how. Carpet was nowhere to be seen, but everybody could hear crying behind all the couches and chairs.

And the Sultan, with his royal subjects' help, began preparing the funeral arrangements at once. A ceremony to commemorate the life of someone as big as the genie would take a few days-maybe even a week. There was much to be done.

Iago was there, too. Jasmine had put him in a cage, and for once, he had nothing snarky to say.


	2. Chapter 2

**The first day of the funeral was sunny, as if there wasn't a** care in the world. The ceremony was to consist of a makeshift lamp ( _Silver instead of Genie's traditional gold; they couldn't even get that right? Aladdin thought_ ) being lowered into the ground an inch every day and by the seventh day, it was to disappear completely into the earth. Elegies, eulogies, and shared memories of the Genie were going to be stretched out into a week.

However, it only took a few seconds of being outside to find that it would be oppressively hot.

Aladdin had wanted to walk, instead of following tradition and riding on the caravan with the royal family. Jasmine, Abu and Iago rode in the shade, while Carpet was permitted to glide along behind. When Iago saw what Aladdin was doing, he squawked in protest and threatened to dig his talons into the boy's shoulder. But Aladdin didn't care. Walking cleared his mind-it allowed him to make bargains with Allah to give them Genie back and take Iago instead. Besides, he hated the caravan; it was muggy and sticky and sitting inside it wasn't going to make him feel any better. Genie wouldn't want a big formal to-do like this summing up his memory.

But Genie wasn't here to want much of anything anymore, was he?

Eventually Jasmine coerced her husband to get his butt in the seat next to her. Agrabah was watching. Genie, wherever he was, was watching.

So onto the stupid caravan he went.


	3. Chapter 3

**The royal family and friends sat together in a special box** above the rest of the country as the religious leader preached on and on about Genie's life. Actually, it was more of stuttering and getting tongue tied as he tried real, real hard to make Genie's death mean something.

The obituary didn't specify his death, but word around town was that Genie killed himself. Genie had _chosen_ to end his own life-he purposefully took it. Under all those smiles and jokes had apparently been true pain. He'd been lonely, confused and sad the entire time Aladdin and Abu and Jasmine and Carpet had known him; he just didn't tell anybody.

Whether all of this was true or not, Aladdin didn't know, and he tried to put the reason out of his mind so as not to lose it.

What he _did_ know, however, was that the religious leader's speech was dreadful. He stuttered and stammered and hemmed and hawed; it was so cringeworthy that Aladdin bet half of the people in the audience were wishing they could be somewhere else-anywhere with a cool pool and cold drinks. Without any palaces or religious leaders preaching on end.

Aladdin shifted in his seat, visible enough for Jasmine to cast a glance his way. But he couldn't help it; it was all so suffocating; the somber event, the solemn singing, the stuffy speech. It just made him feel so…

Trapped.

" _Hi! Where you from? What's your name?"_

" _Uh… uh, Aladdin."_

" _Aladdin! Hello, Aladdin, nice to have you on the show. Can we call you Al, or maybe just Din? Or how about Laddie? Sounds like, 'Here, boy! C'mon, Laddie!'"_

" _I must've hit my head harder than I thought… "_

Aladdin smiled faintly at the memory. He would have given anything to be at the bottom of that ventilated cave right about now. With Abu on his shoulder and Carpet by his side, having just met that weird blue guy-hyped up on fresh air and the thrilling promise of new friends, showing no signs of any sadness or distress.

Back.

Well, this was just great; if Aladdin couldn't even keep this from happening, how was he supposed to keep _himself_ together?


	4. Chapter 4

**After the second day of funeral ended and Agrabah** gathered together to watch the lamp being lowered another inch, members of the nobility engaged in unrestrained talk of the week's subject at the parlor providing much-needed shade.

"I guess the Genie was just too sad, you know. To go on," one of the servants said. "You said he was freed from the lamp a year ago, right, Your Highness? Maybe serving your husband was his life's dream. Maybe he found that he couldn't fit back into the real world, being a lost soul and everything."

He knew it wasn't a man-maid's place to speak so freely, but the Genie had a small, if profound, effect on him too. When the servant had gotten ready to go run errands, the Genie informed him that his shoes were ugly. Before he had a chance to be offended, instantaneously, they were replaced by brand new, shiny loafers. He had walked around that day, the envy of the marketplace-and boy, what that does to a man's ego. The servant wanted to pay with the little money he had, but the Genie had refused.

 _I'm not a charity case and neither are you, pal._

"A lost soul?" his young son asked. His father looked at him. "Go play somewhere."

"Sorry, I don't buy that."

Everyone turned and pinned Jasmine's lady-in-waiting with expectant gazes. Aneesa knew it was selfish, but that genie's funeral had thrown her completely off schedule. She was already in charge of washing Jasmine's clothes, putting them away (She still had callouses on her hands from last week's load, but did anyone care?), bathing her, picking out an outfit for her in addition to looking after that blasted hormonal tiger Rajah. But now because of the funeral, Aneesa had to sew a closet full of beautiful, expensive gowns by hand that the princess was going to wear for two hours in the hot sun and that she would also have to wash in an elaborate, complicated manner. She had been up until six in the morning for the past two days, and she'd only had one hour of sleep.

This funeral so far had been a complete waste of her time and a huge inconvenience. Everyone's plans got put on hold so that the entire country could watch a lamp being lowered into a grave.

That's probably why, even though she was raised better, Aneesa was not in a good mood. "Always flying around here, making a mess and causing trouble. I don't know about all of you, but the genie seemed pretty darn happy the last I saw of him."

"He wasn't?" Everyone looked at Hakeem, the palace's trusty stable boy, next. And even his head whipped around as if he could not believe what just flew out of his mouth.

"We don't know what happened," Jasmine said finally. "So stop. Just stop. Genie was our friend."

"I'm not speaking ill of the dead," Aneesa continued, "but come on. Let's not parade around here acting like he's some sort of a hero. In my religion, if you kill yourself, you go straight to Hell."

"Aneesa!" Jasmine's jaw dropped, aghast.

"My family believes that too," Hakeem added quietly.

"Okay, the both of you never _ever_ say that again," Jasmine ordered, and inside she began to panic. If such a cheerful, friendly spirit had secretly been so sad, then what would that say about everyone around him? What would that say about her?

"I'm sorry, but suicide is selfish," Aneesa went on. "So the person kills himself and escapes _his_ pain. And just how many people are left behind to deal with all that mess?"

" _So three wishes… What would you wish for?"_

" _Me? No one's ever asked me that before. Well, in my case… Ah, forget it."_

" _What?"_

" _No, I can't tell you."_

" _C'mon, tell me."_

" _... Freedom."_

"That's enough, Aneesa," Jasmine stated. "Genie might not have been the most smart, but he certainly wouldn't _kill_ himself."

"Sometimes when people try to make others' lives better, it's because they're the ones hurting inside," her father chimed in sagely. (Seriously, who expected the Sultan to have such wisdom? Looks like he really didn't need an advisor after all.) "He must have given some kind of cry for help," he went on. "The Genie had his own problems, I'm sure. Did anyone here ever bother to ask why?"

Aladdin pitched a saucer at the wall and walked off.

After a long, silent, tense moment, Aneesa just shrugged. "I did not say anything wrong."

Jasmine gripped her chest, her heart pounding. She thought _she_ was bad at counseling, but her father? Her father was a natural powder keg. "Aneesa. Why…"

"I was just wondering," she said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Aladdin had finished skipping rocks for** the day. Once in awhile, when he _really_ needed to escape the pressures of palace life, Genie would accompany him and they would go down by the sea. Aladdin had just tossed a pebble that skimmed the surface fifteen times, a record and personal best given the choppiness of the waves.

"Not bad, huh?" he bragged. But he didn't hear any "Good job, Al." No pat on the back that knocked the wind out of him like always. Nothing.

Aladdin took a stroll down by the shore. What he couldn't get out of his head were all those times Genie's face fell. All those times he didn't smile. That one time Genie had said something about granting his freedom and Aladdin had elbowed him in the chest. Stuffed the lamp under the pillow, said that he could just stay in there. Dismissed Genie. Ignored him.

Told him to stop making jokes.

" _Genie, I can't keep this up on my own. I… I can't wish you free."_

" _Fine, I understand. After all, you've lied to everyone else. Hey, I was beginning to feel left out. Now, if you'll excuse me, Master!"_

Aladdin chucked his last rock into the water, too hard to make any skips. He was an idiot. Never did it occur to him that the Genie, who made everyone's lives better, had been languishing. Drowning. Succumbing to his own turmoil.

He'd been screaming. And no one had heard a thing.

Aladdin tipped his head toward the night sky. _I miss you, Genie. Even all those stupid jokes you used to make._

If only Aladdin had one more day with him. He'd do all the things Genie begged him to do, take all the trips Genie had begged to take him on.

If only Aladdin had the chance to say what he _really_ wanted.

But Genie wasn't here.

But Aladdin was.

Alone.

… And he was really the worst.


	6. Chapter 6

**The third day of the funeral was enjoyably less** hot than the first and second day. But still nobody was feeling very enjoyable. Except for a few kids running around in the royal playground who didn't know what was going on.

The biggest, most humongous posters of Genie that Aladdin had ever seen were draped on the second-biggest pillars Aladdin had ever seen.

The hand drawn picture _duplicated-duplicated-duplicated_ on the posters was of the Sultan's personal favorite. Genie was smiling; a carefree, ear-to-ear grin.

Which is what hurt the most.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, what about Iago? Iago didn't really have too** much interaction with him, but he wasn't thrilled that Genie was gone either. He flew way up high to a golden knob on the palace and perched on it, remembering. Despite all of Iago's complaints about him (and boy there were a lot) he really liked the kid a lot. I mean of course here and then, Genie could get pretty annoying. So anytime Iago tried to invite a pretty bird over, Genie popped out of nowhere and started listing off Iago's flaws, from the shedding to his loud mouth. So whenever Iago was having Iago time, Genie bust in and asked _what he was doing, what did he want to do today, what was he doing, what did he want to do today_ like those irritating vultures in The Jungle Book.

So… eehm…

… Wait, what was he talking about again?

Iago watched the Sultan look down wistfully at the plot of land, where Genie's lamp was lowered another inch. "The boy was indeed a magnificent soul," he said, even though nobody asked. "How will we ever truly put him to rest?"

"We can't."

Everyone turned around. Aladdin Jr.-err, Hakeem-was leaning against the wall. That boy just couldn't keep his mouth shut if he knew what was good for him.

"Why, Hakeem."

"The Genie can't rest in peace. I'm sorry, Sultan, but Aneesa is right; if somebody kills themselves-"

"Hakeem, don't you dare finish that sentence," Jasmine ordered.

"Why should we put him on a pedestal for taking his own life, is all?" Iago could tell that Hakeem was genuinely wondering. "I'm not trying to be disrespectful, it's just… "

 _Krrrrrrr!_ Iago jumped-down below Aladdin had started ripping the pictures of Genie off the pillars. Everybody was staring. He grabbed the humongous painting of him and to all of their horror (especially the painter's) crashed it onto the ground.

"AYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, that's it!" And the hairy, scary artist from Greece packed up his easel and stormed off. "They don't pay me enough to do this job!"

Jasmine walked over and touched her husband's shoulder. "It's going to be okay."

Aladdin turned, hurling something else against the wall by her head. "It's not going to be okay, Jasmine. It's never going to be okay."

"I don't… I don't know…" Iago had never seen the Princess so flustered. "What do you want me to say?"

"Say we should have listened. Say we should have known Genie was upset. Why didn't you do anything for him? Why didn't you say anything to him? Did you tell Genie it was going to be okay? You just let him go on feeling like that; this is your fault!"

Aladdin had tears in his eyes and to Jasmine, that was worse than all the yelling. She had never seen her husband like this, couldn't even imagine him this way. Something was on the tip of her tongue, Iago knew, but she wasn't sure she could let it come out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hakeem did not know why he'd even bothered to** tag along. This was an early morning trip to the Genie's hidey hole to collect his valuables before the funeral started up again. Everyone's memories of him.

They were going to be sold in order to "give Agrabah a little piece of him." But seriously, who in their right mind had invited him?

Well, the Sultan, but…

And it was an order, but still.

This was not Hakeem's thing. The Genie was Aladdin's friend. All Hakeem had heard about the blue being were the typical stories of how he helped Aladdin become a prince in order to win the heart of the princess, how he had helped Aladdin do this, how he helped Aladdin do that, yhadda-yhadda, etc. Everything was about them and their adventures, and Hakeem more than often felt like there was no room for him. Maybe he wasn't the most outgoing person in the palace, but still.

That was probably the reason why he'd spent the entire session staring at all of the artifacts the Genie had left in his "secret jinni hidey hole" in confusion. He didn't have any special connection to his rusty golden shackles, any memories attached to the cookbooks for hilarious recipes like Chicken à la King, and of course, no feeling for the empty lamp.

Hakeem could feel his brow crinkle. He had lived in that lamp for ten thousand years; why would Genie need another hidey hole in the first place?

"What, Hakeem?" Aladdin barked and Hakeem's head shot up, wondering if he'd spoken out loud.

"What'd I do?" he asked, flushing.

"That look on your face. What are you staring at everything like that for? Give Genie a little respect. I mean, what's the matter with you, Hakeem? What do you think this is? Some kind of freak show?"

"Son, that's enough." Sultan had to stand on a nearby stool in order to be tall enough to put his hands on his son-in-law's shoulders. "Save it for after."

All of the bluster went out of Aladdin then and his shoulders drooped. "Alright. You're right."

"Aladdin…?" Hakeem shifted his weight. He felt extremely guilty for provoking this outburst, as he realized he'd looked strangely at the artifacts more than once. But it's not like he was as bad as Aneesa or anything.

There was a lull. And then…

"Hey, would you mind if I stopped off at the palace real quick?" Aladdin was asking for the Sultan's blessing; he was actually _asking._

His father-in-law wasn't going to let this short-lived display of humility go to waste, and he gave a curt nod.

"You know? I feel like I need to put my thoughts on paper. To dedicate it to Genie, you know. Because if I don't…" Aladdin exhaled. "If I don't I'll probably get frustrated, and I'll only embarrass myself again."

"I think that's a good idea," the Sultan said after a while.


	9. Chapter 9

**After fifteen some hours and after the lamp was** lowered into the ground its fourth increment, another day of the funeral began to draw to a close. The eulogies had been given. Everyone close to Genie said their peace… except for Genie's dearest friend.

Not master. Not anymore.

Jasmine had to physically shove Aladdin onto the stage when he'd begun to have second thoughts about reading a homemade elegy from a pitifully tiny, slightly-torn piece of paper. Even though he wasn't ready and clearly annoyed, the sun was high and the funeral goers were getting antsy, Jasmine and her father had convinced him that he would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't read how he felt about Genie.

They said that regret was a wasted emotion, coincidentally.

Jasmine asked Aladdin if he wanted to sleep on the balcony tonight.

They told him it was the right thing to do.

… And plus, Iago was down for a good laugh.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Well this is strange.**_ **Aladdin's repeating cycle of insecure** thoughts in addition to _I can't do this_ and _Who cares what a has-been street rat has to say?_ was nearing its end as he stepped onto the stage.

His fingers fluttered on his thigh. Everyone was waiting for the Prince of Agrabah to make this powerful, lasting elegy in Genie's memory. But how exactly was he supposed to start? It's not like he prepared something formal and elaborate; he sort of just planned to jump right into it. Aladdin hadn't spoken in front of so many people in, well, ever. And now the whole country was going to hear what was on his mind.

"So," Aladdin began, running a hand through his hair and making a show of crumpling the paper he brought. The audience tittered and, suddenly, he regretted his choice of attire. Aladdin had stuck to his guns about wearing the rags he used to wear when he went to make this eulogy; after all, this was the Aladdin Genie knew him as. But now he kind of wished he had on in his Ababwa suit.

" _No matter what anybody says… you'll always be a prince to me."_

"So," Aladdin started again and cleared his throat. "Let's not make this awkward-"

"Too late!" Iago screamed from the audience.

"As you all know, Genie was a food friend of mine. A good friend!" He corrected himself, flushing. "A really good friend. Sorry, I haven't had breakfast. We were rushing to get here… It's been a long day."

A few of the people laughed; Aladdin rubbed the kinks out of his shoulders, starting to relax.

"Wow," he sighed. "This is still… I still can't even believe it. If anyone here told me Genie was just gonna… _go_ like this I would have told them they were crazy. Especially if he went without seeing Disney World first."

An encouraging guffaw from the audience helped him feel more at ease. Jasmine gave him a nod, her eyes red-rimmed, (either from exhaustion or crying or both) and the sudden gravity of the situation smacked him like a cold breeze in the night.

And even though he told himself he wouldn't, Aladdin began to get flustered.

"Sorry, I don't know what to say next; I'm new at this. Why don't I just stop rambling and tell you the story from the beginning about my favorite blue bud? _Blue,"_ he emphasized in response to Abu's huffing and puffing up in the wings.

Aladdin gave the whole entire account of how he was tricked by a certain nasty, golden-toothed son of a jackal (who ended up just being Jafar, big surprise) and how he ended up in the Cave of Wonders with Abu and Carpet. How he mistook the lamp for a beat-up worthless piece of junk, rubbed the dust off of it and out came Genie, with all the smoke and mirrors, bells and whistles that only his dear friend could muster.

Aladdin even did the best Genie impression he could do with such little preparation, and it managed to garner a few more laughs: (" _Oy! Ten thousand yeeeeeears will give ya such a crick in the neck!")_

The private balcony loved it. He was proud of himself.

"But have I told you about the time he tried to give me advice on how to talk to Jasmine?" Aladdin continued. "Not a lot of people know this story. See, he has this thing where he can turn into a different things. Well, this time… "


	11. Chapter 11

_**After many unsuccessful attempts at trying to get**_ _the Princess to pay him some attention, Aladdin ended up-ahem I'm sorry Prince Ali-turned out to be a huge disappointment. He'd stuttered and stammered and spluttered that he had servants who looked exactly like him who go to the marketplace for his servants, so no it wasn't him that she met._

" _No…" Jasmine said, giving up, dejectedly leaning against Rajah. "I guess not."_

" _Enough about you, Casanova," came an annoyed buzzing in his ear. "Talk about her!"_

" _Huh?"_

" _She's smart, fun, the hair, the eyes, anything! Pick a feature!"_

 _Aladdin tried again. "Princess Jasmine? You're very…"_

" _Wonderful, glorious, magnificent… Punctual!"_

" _Punctual!"_

" _Punctual?"_

" _Sorry."_

" _Beautiful," he blurted out at the last minute. (Aladdin didn't even know what the term_ punctual _meant, but the way Jasmine made it sound made him want to recant.)_

" _Nice recovery," Bee Genie cheered in his ear._

 _But as we all know, that didn't last. After Jasmine got in his face with that "stuffed-shirt, swaggering (What princess uses the word swaggering with a straight face?) peacock" comment, and pulled his turban over his head, and told him to jump off a balcony, Aladdin was so mortified he was seriously_ considering _it. Jumping off a balcony, that is. Into an ocean. With rocks. Lots of rocks. Sharp rocks._

At least now Jasmine knew what all that fumbling was about.

Genie didn't teach him to lie well. Genie didn't teach him to lie at all; he'd been the one to insist that Aladdin tell the truth-that he wasn't really a pompous prince but instead a smooth-talking street rat-and the whole Prince Ali charade ended up being a disaster because Aladdin was ill-prepared.

If Aladdin could recall, it all fell apart when Genie stopped talking to him because he couldn't particularly guarantee his freedom. Genie could be so petty sometimes. But his cold shoulder sure didn't last long; Genie was packing, shackle-free within hours.

Still. Genie was always getting him into situations like this.

But then… Genie was always there to get him back out of trouble again. And if he was being completely honest, Aladdin kind of liked getting into situations like this. It was always an adventure. Now, there would be no more.

… Well there would always be adventures, but not like they were.


	12. Chapter 12

**Aladdin may have trailed off and completely** stopped in the middle of his speech, but Iago was sure impressed by his composure as he continued. You know, a year later.

"If I was told that I'd score an actual genie following me around, offering me wacky situations, I'd have said no. That wasn't part of the deal. But if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have met the love of my life."

Jasmine blew him a tear-soaked kiss.

"I wouldn't have met the Sultan or Rajah, or Hakeem and everyone else. I wouldn't be a prince, standing before you right now. I wouldn't have had an awesome best friend I could just talk to when things went bad. But things happen. Now he's gone, and we have to move on. We have to help one another through this."

Aladdin was holding his own very well, even though his wife was falling apart at the seams up in the box. Jasmine had folded over, her father rubbing her back. Probably embarrassed by the way the Prince of Agrabah was making a eulogy to someone so beloved by the rest of the country with all the formality of catching up with a friend in a pastry shop. She needed to grow up, was what Iago was thinking. "Grow up."

"Shut up, you stupid bird!" Jasmine screeched, turning all of Agrabah's eyes on her.


	13. Chapter 13

" **Wow, good job, Al!" Iago was all over** Aladdin, congratulating him the minute he got offstage. "You did really great. I was worried about you, but your speech wasn't mushy or depressing in the least!"

"Yeah," Aladdin had to admit, "but it was bittersweet. I choked on my words. I watched my wife cry in the audience… "

"Yeah but _you_ didn't do anything stupid like cry or sing a song or anything. I think it summed up Genie's memory very-Well hey, Al!" Iago startled when he saw how far away he'd walked in such a short time. "Where are you going?"

"Away."

"But I'm trying to give you praise!"

"Don't." Aladdin stopped walking and sighed. "I just wanted this thing to be worthy of Genie, that's all." Then he was gone.

Iago shook his head. _Swell,_ he thought. _If this is the shape the prince and the princess were in, what hope was there for the rest of Agrabah?_


	14. Chapter 14

**Later that day, the Sultan wandered back into his** daughter's chambers. Over the course of the previous week, either from the stress of planning or sheer forgetfulness, his beard had grown from a plump bush to a small forest. He reached up and rubbed it. The loss of Genie had taken more of a toll on him than he'd expected.

The Sultan loved flying the magic carpet around the halls, stacking toy elephants on top of each other with that agitated little monkey, but especially rearranging his schedule to engage in the longest conversations about women, wine and life with the big blue guy. Now that his advisor was gone, (You know, after Jafar tried to take over world and everything), the Genie stepped in to fill that role, offering unique and piquant perspectives of how to run Agrabah.

Then, of course, there were the Sultan's memories of the Genie saving his entire kingdom from that freak Jafar with his own particular brand of wit.

" _Tonight the part of Al will be played by a tall, dark and sinister ugly man."_

" _I am your master now!"_

" _I was afraid of that…"_

No way was that gonna happen. The Sultan remembered fondly how Aladdin had used his street smarts to outwit him.

" _You wanted to be a genie? You got it!"_

" _What?"_

" _And everything that goes with it."_

" _No! No!"_

" _I'm getting out of here!"_

" _Phenomenal cosmic powers… ("Come on, you're the genie. I don't want, I don't… !") itty bitty living space."_

" _Al, you little genius, you!"_

With Genie's help, of course.

" _Allow me. Ten thousand years in the Cave of Wonders oughta chill him out!"_

The Sultan heaved a hefty sigh. The palace was a duller place without the Genie, that was for sure.

He creaked open the door to his daughter's room, and found her face down on the bed, with Rajah looking down at her sympathetically. "Are you feeling better?"

Jasmine turned to her father, her giant eyes damp. _So a no, then._ "Oh, Father," she sobbed. "He wouldn't kill himself… He didn't."

The Sultan just rubbed her back in reply. His daughter was doing the ugly cry. Whenever she did the ugly cry, it meant that she'd lost something she really cared about.

"I don't know how to do anything," she choked out, black tears still streaming. "It just hit me; I keep trying to bring everyone together and make everybody feel better, but I can't. My own husband… I can't even… " His daughter trailed off.

"Now, Jasmine… "

"I wish Mother was here."

The Sultan knew that Jasmine knew very little about the Sultana. What she must have truly wished was that her mother's DNA flowed through her veins and with it, her ability to heal.

… Anytime now.


	15. Chapter 15

" **You can't take what the boy says** **to** heart. He's upset. He's just a boy."

That evening, after Aladdin's inappropriately informal eulogy had been given, the Sultan had asked Hakeem to go on a walk with him and Rajah through the gardens. He was going on and on about his son-in-law's outburst, which Hakeem had already forgiven him for. Grief manifested itself differently in different people; that much he understood.

The Sultan kept talking and Hakeem nodded like he was listening, but to be honest, he was still kind of upset. For over a year, he'd been bombarded with stories about the Genie. How the Genie helped Aladdin and the gang and how funny the Genie was and _don't forget to bring along the Genie when they'd go on one of those_ "formal field trips" (fun adventures he'd been left out of). Hakeem would have liked to meet him, but the Genie was so busy flying this way and that, and he was so shy and nervous to speak to people. (Well, supernatural beings in this case).

He didn't even know the entirety of the Genie's backstory. Why hadn't he asked?

Hakeem was suddenly hit by another wave of guilt. If he was being honest, he coveted the Genie and Aladdin's friendship. If he could make only one wish, he'd wish for something just like that. Hakeem was just a stable boy, after all; the closest relationship he'd had was with a hookworm.

And yet.

If Hakeem had taken the first step of reaching out, he and the Genie might have been the ones to cultivate a relationship. Like the ones he had with everyone else. Okay, maybe not quite as strong a friendship that he shared with Aladdin, but… something. Maybe then Hakeem wouldn't be in the dark; he'd understand why everyone felt so lost.

"I know exactly what's going through your mind, son, and try not to take it too hard," the Sultan told him. "I know you're jealous. So am I a little bit. I know you'd have given your right arm for a chance to have the kind of friendship with Genie that Aladdin had."

Hakeem's head shot up. Where in the constitution of Agrabah did it say the Sultan had the ability to read minds?

He might not have been incredibly close with him, but for what it was worth, Hakeem had thought highly of the Genie. His laughter and tricks and jokes were infectious. He would have loved to ask him for advice about girls someday. Not that he could see himself with one, but he wanted to see what wacky Genie would give.

Now of course, he would never get the chance.

"The whole country of Agrabah knew Genie," the Sultan continued. "In that distant family member kind of way; and even if you didn't, you knew of him. He could make everybody smile. I wasn't very close to him either. Not like Jasmine and Carpet and Aladdin and his pet. I would have liked to be, but I guess it can't be helped."

People around the palace called him Aladdin Jr. because look at him. Hakeem realized with resolution that Jasmine's father was right; he had looked up to Aladdin ever since he swaggered into the palace a year ago. Hakeem admired how cool and confident and charismatic Aladdin was.

Whenever Hakeem felt like he didn't belong in that great big palace, Aladdin had been the one to sit on the steps, peel a date and talk to him-actually _talk_ to him. About his life, about his family, about everything. And all Hakeem wanted was to return the favor. But he didn't even know how he was supposed to talk to Aladdin, especially right now. Everything he said seemed to be wrong. Aladdin could break a watermelon in half with just his knee; Hakeem didn't like getting on his bad side.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you?" the Sultan asked, and Hakeem snapped back to reality. He had been so lost in thought that all he could do was nod again, his neck and ears turning a deep, shameful red. The Sultan either didn't notice or pretended not to notice, which Hakeem was grateful for. "He'll come around when he's ready."

Right at that moment, just as the Sultan predicted, Aladdin came running over (Hakeem guessed, in an sudden attack of conscience).

"Hey," he began, out of breath; and before Hakeem himself could say anything: "Hakeem, I just wanted to say sorry. What I said before, yesterday, it wasn't like… I didn't mean…"

"I'm sorry too," Hakeem burst out. "I should have been more understanding. I was jealous-Aneesa was too. The Genie was a good friend of yours; I wish I had that."

Aladdin nodded. And everything between them was good.

The Sultan had made sure of that.


	16. Chapter 16

**There was so little that Aladdin could do as prince,** but he insisted-absolutely insisted-on selling Genie's things himself on the fourth day. Aladdin chuckled when he remembered how much of a hoarder Genie was, and it just so happened that he ended up having to sell everything over his dead body. This was good; Genie would want all of his stuff to go out with a bang. A little humor. Aladdin doubted that the saleswoman the palace had in mind even knew what humor was.

The magic carpet had insisted-absolutely insisted-on accompanying him. Even though Aladdin had wanted to play vendor himself, Carpet was having none of it and darted underneath him, picking him up so that he'd have no choice but to take him along. He wanted one last look at Genie's junk too, Aladdin figured. And so off they flew.

The day had been a long one, but successful. One by one, all of Genie's things when into the hands of the people. Aladdin smiled and chatted up the customers and was very witty and very brave…

Then came the shackles oh, the shackles. The shackles that kept Genie tied to his "Master." The ones that popped off him slowly, when Aladdin had _finally_ granted him his freedom after all that time. After holding the bonds in his hand and taking one last look at them, he let his last customer have them for free; a snot-nosed little boy probably too young to know their significance anyway. Besides; they were priceless.

The bewildered look on Genie's face was truly priceless.

" _Genie, I wish for your freedom."_

" _One bona fide prince pedigree coming up. I… What?"_

" _Genie… you're free!"_

When Aladdin had told him that, this wasn't what he meant. When he'd run his hand through his hair and said, "Genie, I'm gonna miss you," this was the farthest thing from what he had in mind.

" _Quick. Quick. Wish for something outrageous; say I-I want the Nile. Wish for the Nile. Try that."_

" _Uhh… I wish for the Nile-"_

" _NO WAY! Hahahahahahahaaaa! Oh, does that feel good!"_

Aladdin didn't even know that he was crying until the magic carpet started darting around him in zig-zags, carrying on.

He covered his eyes with his hand. "It's nothing, Carpet. It's just that I never knew my parents."

Could he be any worse at lying? Aladdin figured that maybe after fibbing so much in the past, his acquired gift had started to go stale. True, the fact that he was an orphan got him down sometimes, but that was irrelevant to what was happening inside him right now.

Then Aladdin realized, with great humiliation, that his little customer had not left yet. The boy held the shackles back out, shook them all around.

"If it makes you feel any better," he said, "you can have _my_ parents."


	17. Chapter 17

**After Carpet flew him back to the palace, intending** to get him some rest, Aladdin decided that instead he would sit by the fountain to try and calm down. He was feeling restless and needed a drink; besides he wanted to cool off from selling all of Genie's possessions for hours in the hot sun.

Suddenly Razoul, the palace's favorite guard, walked up to him. In addition to his bulk and build, Aladdin immediately flinched, an instinct from having to run from him back when he was a street rat.

"Hey. Nice speech yesterday."

Aladdin looked up at him. It was not a "nice speech"; it was mortifying. "What do you want, Razoul?"

Razoul took off his hat, wrung it in his hands. "I just wanted to say… Sorry about your friend."

Aladdin looked away. Even though he could tell Razoul really meant it. "Yeah. Me too."

"No, really. I wish the Genie didn't have to go like that." Razoul shook his head. "It was just awful."

"Yeah."

"No, really. Listen, I'm trying to give you my condolences-are you in the mood to talk right now? 'Cause it sounds like you're blowing me off."

"Pretty much."

"Why?"

"Because, Razoul, let's not kid ourselves. If I wasn't married to the princess, you wouldn't be saying any of this. Probably wouldn't even be talking to me right now… "

"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to not be fake with me. And you don't have to act all sincere just 'cause Genie killed himself."

Razoul would be the last person Aladdin would confess anything to, given that he still didn't trust him, but the last words that flew out of his mouth shocked him. Aladdin had spent this past week trying to convince himself that Genie had not been upset enough to end it all the whole time he'd known him.

Razoul, however, didn't seem surprised by this in the least. He just looked at Aladdin with his eyes softened around the corners, and he trudged down the path.


	18. Chapter 18

_In Aladdin's dream he was back to a year ago. Back at the top of that cliff, alive and soaking wet, coughing from being gagged, bound and tossed into the sea by Jafar's goons (led by Razoul, might he add)._

 _Genie was fussing all over him. He'd used one wish to save Aladdin's life; he remembered that._

" _Don't you scare me like that!" Genie reprimanded._

" _Genie… I…" Aladdin trailed off. Instead of saying_ "Thanks, Genie" _and hugging him like he did before-he didn't know if it was the stern tone he used or the way Genie was looking at him or the fact that it was_ Genie _who was worried about_ him _or if it was the wine from earlier in the day-but it was little wonder after all he'd been through that he started to cry._

 _Genie flailed about. "Why Al, what's wrong? What happened to you down there-did you hit your head again?" Aladdin shook his head. "Wait, why would I ask you that-then you'd be unconscious." Genie smacked himself with a puppet. "What's the matter, Laddie?"_

" _Ah there's nothing wrong, Genie; it's just that you're so funny."_

 _A look crossed Genie's face-confused, pleased and genuinely startled, as nobody had ever been brought to tears by his natural comedic charm._

" _You're so funny. And caring. And everybody loves you. You're such a great friend, and I wanted to thank you for that." Aladdin went on and on, because Genie was not going to stop him. "And Hakeem and Aneesa don't even know you, and now they never will. And I'm sorry I took advantage of you. And that I was selfish; it wasn't fair. You really changed my life. And you shouldn't be sad-I don't want you to be sad. And I don't ever want you to die."_

 _By the time he had finished, Aladdin was unable to control his breathing. Genie's face betrayed another fleeting sense of perplexity, then it softened into a smile. "It's okay, Al." Then he said something that broke Aladdin's heart that he probably wouldn't even remember in the morning. Something along the lines of "I appreciate you saying all this to me, and I never thought I'd hear it from you, but it's too late. I'm already dead." Something like that. Then Genie clapped him hard on the back, like always._


	19. Chapter 19

**Aladdin gasped awake and yanked on** the light. It must have been an hour or so after midnight as by this time, moonlight had fully bled into the huge room.

It had all felt so real. Could it have been a sign from Genie, maybe?

Jasmine began to stir, no doubt tired from a long day's grieving/healing. She sat up on one elbow and looked into her husband's face. "Don't be sad," she murmured, tracing the faint trail of his tears.

Aladdin shook his head. Genie hadn't told him not to say what he'd said, that none of it was true-or at least that none of it mattered. "I was dreaming about…"

"I know." His wife reached over, turned the light off, and went to back sleep. This time facing him.


	20. Chapter 20

**Abu sat unfailingly at his post at his old time's** sake for the past several days. Sometimes, when everybody was out being "punctual," and especially with Aladdin constantly called away to be princely and whatnot, Abu would go to the loft that he and his human had shared for over a decade.

He had been waiting for Genie, patiently. If he remembered correctly, Genie owed Abu money in a card game he threw because it was too hard. Not that much. But enough to actually _purchase_ some dates from the market instead of stealing and getting his arm hacked off. For all he knew, Genie was out racking up cash at a local casino, and that's what was taking him so long. If that was the truth, then Abu would be the richest monkey that ever lived!

So here Abu stood. After all, Genie's exact words were "I'll be right back."

Genie hated to see Abu all by his lonesome, so he'd shape shift into all sorts of fun characters. Abu's favorite was when he'd be a smooth, fast-talking punk with a moustache who played cards with Carpet and always lost, no matter what advantage he had. Abu couldn't stop laughing.

" _So, move."_

 _Carpet made a move._

" _Hey! That's a good move. I can't believe it. I'm losing to a_ rug!"

Normally, Abu would crack up at the memory, but he was a guard at his post, and guards don't "crack up." No matter how long they'd been standing in that same maddening spot.

There were still cards on the ground and under pillows from when Genie had lost the last game. Anytime Genie would transform back into his regular form, all the props from his big show would instantly clean themselves up, but they were still there.

Abu would give anything for Genie to reappear right about now. He even would have forgiven Genie for turning him into an elephant, even though he said he wouldn't… _ever_. But Abu had to admit… that was actually kind of fun.

" _Yes! Esalalumbo shimin Dumbo! Talk about your trunk space. Check this action out!"_

Abu's tiny shoulders slumped. If Genie were coming back, he would have made his grand entrance already. If he truly in his heart knew that Genie was coming back, Abu wouldn't feel so empty right now. It was then that the realization sunk in: who else would waste their time coming up to the secret, forbidden man-loft with him?

" _Do you mind if I kiss the monkey? Oh! Hairball."_

Maybe he wouldn't want to come up here anymore either.

Soon, Aladdin came climbing up the ladder. "There you are, Abu-don't scare me like that." He looked around the loft, undisturbed and still wonderfully disheveled. "Wow, it's been awhile since we've been in this old place. What are you doing up here?"

Abu slowly turned to face him, his eyes growing big and watery, his lip trembling.

"Oh no…"

"WAAAAAAAAAhhhhhh!" Abu ran and glomped Aladdin, bawling his little monkey eyes out. Crying actual tears, who'd a guessed? But who could blame him?

There were no casinos in Agrabah.

This was what that long, sticky, hot, week-long procession he'd seen from up in the loft had been about. There was no way he was coming back to play with Abu in the loft; the Genie was already gone.

Aladdin took off Abu's cap to stroke his little head. "Come on, buddy; this is already hard enough," he said. "If you don't stop, you're gonna make me cry…"

Abu didn't care. Abu had always assumed Genie would come back from wherever his little "field trip" took him. He'd been waiting weeks. Months, even. And he was tired. It felt like forever that he stayed put in that loft. But of course, he couldn't so sure; monkeys didn't tell time.


	21. Chapter 21

**The last day of the funeral didn't** happen. It was a Sunday and everyone wanted a rest. The emotional ups-and-downs, in addition to everything physical that had to be done and all the preparations that had taken weeks to make proved overwhelming, so the royal palace of Agrabah cut the funeral short. Not that it served a huge blow to the people, who all had a little piece of Genie from the keepsakes in their homes now.

The silver lamp finally ended up disappearing into the ground, though nobody was around to see it.

Aladdin was sitting the wrong way on the balcony railing, but Carpet was not under his feet this time. He was staring out into the sea.

Jasmine snuck up on him and pulled him backward, causing Aladdin to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Oh. Hi," was all he was able to say. He felt sheepish.

And then nada. Nothing. Awkward silence; they just stared at each other. Jasmine finally got to have a good look at her husband-she had been wondering all that week why Aladdin had chosen to stay in his "street rat clothes," but she knew better than to aggravate. She knew that Aladdin was grasping at straws for things to say, but she couldn't help him out with this one.

Then finally Aladdin said, "Jasmine, I'm sorry. About… what happened. Whenever we… "

Jasmine decided to milk this, playing coy. She turned her back to him, strolling a few steps away. "Sorry about what?"

"Sorry I threw a saucer so hard. And said those things. And gave that terrible speech to the entire country. I'm trying really hard… but I'll be sure to make it up to you."

She turned, visibly warming up. "You better. I loved him too."

" _Jasmine? I'm sorry I lied to you about being a prince."_

" _I know why you did."_

" _Well, I guess… this… is goodbye?"_

" _Oh, that stupid law. This isn't fair! I love you."_

 _Genie flicked a tear from his eye. "Al, no problem. You've still got one wish left. Just say the word, and you're a prince again."_

" _But, Genie, what about your freedom?"_

" _Hey, it's only an eternity of servitude. This is love! Al, you're not gonna find another girl like her in a million years. Believe me, I know. I've looked."_

"Yeah." Aladdin heaved, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'm still having a hard time getting used to this, I guess. You know? Just… it's hard having Genie gone."

"Neither can I. Or the rest of Agrabah. We're all really gonna miss him. Lean on _us;_ we'll make you better."

"Well, good. It'll be nice talking things out with a human for a change."

Jasmine held out her arms, and her lip quivered. "Just… get over here, you big jerk." Aladdin wasted no time smothering her in his embrace, squeezing her tight. He was not about to let _her_ go in ten thousand years, that was for sure. "Everything's gonna be okay, Aladdin, I promise," she grunted.

"Yeah." Aladdin sniffed, screwing his eyes shut. "Whatever you say, Your Highness."

Jasmine's arms went limp. "Honey, you know I love you, but if you get snot on my clothes, there are going to be two funerals this week."

"Oh." He let go, straightening her shirt. "Sorry."

"It's okay. Aneesa's feeling nice today, so I'll let it slide."

"Good. I'm scared of her."

She laughed; Aladdin laughed. It felt good. And for the first time that week, he felt like he and Jasmine, the Sultan and Hakeem, Abu and Carpet and everyone else, were actually going to survive.

Made you look. :)

 ***Dedicated to Robin Williams (1951-2014)~**

 _If you or anybody you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call 1-800-273-8255._


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